The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-07-18
WISCONSIN,.
An old Travellers View Of tho sta,o-what

| T. d f w.. u Vi. =
An Old Travellers visw, Of tho Stato-Wha,
He Saw. 7 " 81 i1g4
Correspondence af the inteti,oalcer. b
La CROSSE, Wis, July 10, 1887. Y
! don't know when l was as much dis.
appointed in the geographical appearance
Of State as ! have bssn in Wiaconsin.
usually form in advance an idea OF what n
country Is going to look like, and I did 60
with this, but only to tlud that my esti.
nation was far from the correct one, |
thought It was to DO continuation Of the
prairies Of Illinois, and indeed, so far as
Milwaukee, along Lake Michigan's West.
ern shore, 1t was level and fine appear.
ing country. ,gt tt9-G.sl' -
But from Milwaukee our road turned
of toward the northwest through a conn.
try not remarkable fol, anything, It was
neither level nor billy; but was checked
oa.with few desolate looking banks, and
now and then small glade that Seemed
to be 80 sterile and worn out that even a
crawfsh had little enco arsgemeut to de-
Few people lived through that section,
and for even that few it seemed to be-
more existing than living. am at a loss
to tell whence they get their livelihood.
Certainly that unfriendly coil could Yield
q poor recompenee for labor. The timber
-ior the land was more than half covered
with wood-was utterly OF no commercial
value, unless for fuel, and 1t WAS not ex.:
cellent for that inasmuch az the trees
we're so knotty, twisted and gnarled that
The bolts Of Jupiter could not eplit them.
Yet, there was one comfort in all this.
They were so small that few of them mead
splitting. This growing wood was all
oak. iIg9<;lja.. X :"
| saw no cattle, or horses, or sheep, OF
chickens, worth naming. saw one dog
and two crows, and they looked like
strangers in q strange land, with very HI.
tie hope Of eve, getting back home. Yes.
and saw one turtle, with the tin ton OF
Its head sticking out Of pond of water. I
think 1t is tho only turtle in Wisconsin
and as our train dragged its blow LENGTH
past the pond, the turtle looked at US, and
seemed to wonder what had come to amo.
lest it's ancient, solitary reign" q %:51SE
at Portage City We came to the Wiscon.
sin river, and It wea an object Of no small
interest, for it's banks were of peculiar
formation. Their geology resembles that
Of Nevada snd Arizona, although think
In reality it is entirely different. The
stream has a pure, swift current, deer;
enough for steamboat navigation, but too
rapid and rocky. Tho banks are from
fifty to one hundred leot high, perpendic.
nlar in many places, and in some places
imminent, and formed Of stratiied rock.
The river has worn the channel down
through tho lodges, and on either hand
they jut out over the stream In terraces Of
shelves, one above another. Then in the
middle Of . the river, in many places, are
small, peculiar Islands, all solid rock, ex-
cept crown OF soil and tuIt Of yegeta-
ton on; the, top. These islande, some Of
ihem, are fifty or more feet high, and not
that far in diameter at the base. Some of
;hem have three times the area at the ton
that they have at the water-line, over
banging all round. The, reaaon for this is
that the waller by the wear of ages has
carried away the bases OF the islands, and
left the SUBMITS I hanging over like the
batllements Of old teudal castles. The
river rosrs and plunges along the deep,
rugged channel from island to island and
from bank to bank, filing the canon with
endless nolao and confusion OF sounds.
The scene. is peculiar and beautiful. In
aome places the depth Of the water seems
to be untathomabie, and .moves slowly
along, dark and silent. Then, where it Is
chsfed by submerged ledges, and by
shelves from the precipice banks, and by
tho channel islands. it changes into q tor
rent Of pillows and foam. h Is : hg83l.i
After we had passed q ehort distance
along the bank Of this river, we crossed it
by a bridge, aud continued our course
northward, toward the Mississippi river,
which We reach at La Crosse. l.. - h
I had hoped that there would be an i'm
provement in the country west of the
Wisconsin river, and that I would see
some territory coming up to the expeota.
ton which I had entertained regarding
this State. But I have not realized any
change for the better. iThare wss change,
it is tue, but 1t WAS not for anything bet.
ter, nor yet so decidedly worse. I saw a
lew good farms, and now and then We
passed village that had about 1t an air OF
thrift and life; but the general character
istic OF the landscape did not change. a
The topography Of the territory was a
great plain, dlled with small hills scattered
hero and there. wherever they could look
tho ugliest. The growth Of timber had
now indeed become truly pitiiul. Hardly
tree could be eeen twenty feet high, and
the most OF them were about five or six
feet. They seemed to love solitude, and
grew as lar apart as they could. They
were dwarfed and dry and ragged, and
stood about among the heaths aud hills
with look Of hopeless desolation. Nor,
could I tell whether they were dead OF
alive. They had the appearance Of every.
thing woe.begone and dreary, and seemed
to have been starved and !aniahed 10,
centuries. Neither oau tell what kind Of
wood they are. The 1atives told me they
are pine; but it would require a better bo
taniat than to decids the matter. They
look as much like oak, or chestnut, q
buckeve "a lfko pino. !, RI .,s-5 z -. st5